[12/08/05 - 12:00 AM]Hollywood to Remain on High Alert as Comedy Central Renews "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" for a Second Season

[via press release from Comedy Central]

Hollywood To Remain On High Alert As COMEDY CENTRAL Renews "The Showbiz Show With David Spade" For A Second Season

New Season To Consist Of 13 Episodes Beginning March 23, 2006
First Season Averaging One Million Viewers
Fellow "SNL" Alum Molly Shannon Will Reunite With Spade
During The Special, One-Hour Season Finale Airing December 15 At 10:00 P.M. (ET/PT)

NEW YORK, December 8, 2005 -- Millions agree. Hollywood had it coming and David Spade is just getting started. COMEDY CENTRAL has ordered a second season of the weekly satire, "The Showbiz Show with David Spade," it was announced today by Lauren Corrao, executive vice president of original programming and development. The second season of "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" will premiere on March 23, 2006 and consist of 13 episodes.

"Taking on the fertile field of self-important Hollywood is a concept we've long believed in and felt our viewers wanted and expected from us," said Corrao. "David and the team at 'Showbiz' have shown no fear providing biting, satirical commentary week-after-week throughout the first season, which has seen the show grow and really come into its own over the course of the run, turning 'Showbiz' into a favorite with our audience and a new franchise for the network."

"COMEDY CENTRAL gave us the freedom to do 'Showbiz' the way we want to and with their help we think it's getting sharper and better every week," said Spade. "Plus, everyone at work was excited to hear that their subscriptions to US Weekly won't be cancelled."

Since its premiere on September 15, "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" has proven to be a great success, averaging one million viewers per episode and becoming water cooler fodder for viewers who've had it with Tinseltown and all its trappings. The series has also provided COMEDY CENTRAL with exceptional content for the network's digital platforms, including its recently-launched broadband channel, "MotherLoad," and its wireless initiatives.

Hosted by Spade and produced with his long-time creative partner and Emmy Award-winning writer Hugh Fink ("Saturday Night Live"), "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" is a half-hour, topical, comedy series about Hollywood, celebrity and the entertainment industry and the perfect antidote to the fluffy entertainment journalism that currently pervades television and the newsstands. "The Showbiz Show" calls it like it sees it, cutting through the industry hype with a host who knows all about the business from the inside and providing the tell-it-like-it-is voice of comedy that is desperately needed in today's celebrity-obsessed world.

"The Showbiz Show" highlights all of Hollywood's self-importance and hypocrisy by using actual footage, clips and on-location field pieces, along with celebrity guests and comic personalities who appear as critics and correspondents. The first season included appearances by David Arquette, Selma Blair, Rob Lowe, Steve Schirripa and Scott Weiland, among others. Fellow "SNL"-alum Molly Shannon will reunite with Spade during the special, one-hour season finale airing December 15 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Credits for "The Showbiz Show with David Spade" include Spade, Fink, Pariah's Gavin Polone and the Brillstein-Grey Company's Peter Traugott as executive producers and Gary Mann and Scott Landsman as executives in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL. The series was created by Fink.

COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 87 million homes nationwide. COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of MTV Networks. COMEDY CENTRAL is a registered trademark of Comedy Partners. COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is http://www.comedycentral.com. For up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit COMEDY CENTRAL's press-only website at www.comedycentral.com/press.